by

Ócáid le Dinny McGinley / Event with Dinny McGinley

A chairde,

Bhí muid inár ndaoine cáiliúla Dé Luain seo caite, an 29ú lá de mhí Iúil! Ní hamháin go ndearna mé an t-agallamh raidió sin le Raidió na Life, ach bhí deis againn bualadh leis an Aire Dinny McGinley! Bhí ócáid Fulbright ar siúl ar an Cheathrú Rua a bhfuair muid cuireadh dó, agus tugadh dámhachtainí beaga do dhaoine a thug faoi chúrsa sa Ghaeilge ó Mheiriceá agus ó Cheanada sa cheantar sin an samhradh seo. In éineacht leis na daoine uaisle sin, fuair mé féin agus Caitlin Myron, an Fulbright MA don bhliain seo chugainn, dámhachtáiní fosta, agus ba ár n-ónóir é pictiúirí a ghlacadh leis an Aire agus bualadh leis. Seo alt nuachtáin ón ócáid sin:

Alt Nuachtáin

Bhuail mé le bean ó Raidió na Gaeltachta, fosta, a rinne agallamh beag eile liom, agus d’fhoghlaim mé go mbíonn sí ag léamh an bhlag seo go rialta! An t-ionadh a bhí orm é sin a chluinstin! Is dócha go gcaithfidh mé obair níos fearr a dhéanamh le ‘postanna’ níos rialta a chur air seo!

Go raibh maith agat don Choimisiún Fulbright, arís, as an seans seo, bhain muid an-sult as an lá!

Amanda

 

______________________________________

Hello friends,

We were quite the famous people this past Monday, the 29th of July! Not only did I do an interview on Raidió na Life, but we also had the chance to meet the Minister of State for the Gaeltacht, Dinny McGinley! Fulbright had an event in Carraroe, which we were invited to, in which small awards were given to a group of American and Canadian students who undertook a course in Irish there this summer. Along with all those lovely people, I and Caitlin Myron, the incoming Fulbright to do this MA program, received our own small awards and had our pictures taken with Dinny McGinley.  Here’s a newspaper article about the event:

Alt Nuachtáin

I also met with a woman who works for Raidió na Gaeltachta, and did another small interview with her. I learned that she follows this blog regularly, as well! Imagine the surprise it was to hear that! I suppose I need to keep up with this thing more regularly, if people are actually reading it!

Thanks again to Fulbright for this great chance, we had a wonderful day!

Amanda

by

Agallamh le Raidió na Life / Interview with Raidió na Life

A chairde,

Rinne mé agallamh beag le Raidió na Life, staisiún raidió atá suite i mBaile Átha Cliath. Tá mé measartha sásta leis… cé go raibh mé ag caint go mall, mar gheall go raibh mé neirbhíseach, sílim go raibh sé cruinn agus soiléir go leor. Seo an nasc, má tá suim agat:

https://soundcloud.com/cianraidi-nalife/amanda-bernhard-scol-ire?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=email

Amanda

_____________________________

Hey folks,

I did a small interview with Raidió na Life, an Irish language radio station that’s based in Dublin. I’m fairly happy with how it went, even though I was speaking slowly because I was nervous, I think it was fairly accurate and clear, anyway. Here’s the link anyway, if you’re interested:

https://soundcloud.com/cianraidi-nalife/amanda-bernhard-scol-ire?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=email

 

Amanda

by

Ag cruthú na teanga? / Making up the language?

Haighea a chairde,

Seo alt suimiúil a d’aimsigh Jonathan inné, faoi théarmaíocht úr sa Ghaeilge agus cad é mar a ghlactar/ nach nglactar í i bpobal na Gaeilge:

http://corkirish.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/making-the-language-up/

 

Baineann an plé seo le hábhar mo thráchtais agus sílim go bhfuil sé thar a bheith suimiúil. Ar thaobh amháin, caithfear téarmaíocht úr a chruthú ionas go mbeidh an teanga úsáideach go nua-aimseartha. Ar an taobh eile, is dócha nach bhfuil an pobal dúchais páirteach sa phróiseas cruthaíochta, agus dá bharr sin ní ghlacann siad leis na téarmaí úra a chruthaítear. De réir mo thaighde féin, ciallaíonn sé sin nach mbíonn foghlaimeoirí i suíomh Gaeltachta ábalta brath ar muintir na háite le téarmaíocht nua-aimseartha / sháiniúil a fhoghlaim, agus úsáidtear téarmaí i mBéarla, dá thairbhe sin, faraor.

Le meas,

Amanda

______________________________

Hey folks,

I wanted to share this interesting article with you that Jonathan found yesterday, about the creation of new terminology in Irish:

http://corkirish.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/making-the-language-up/

 

This discussion is connected to my thesis topic, and I think it’s a really interesting point. On one side, new terminology has to be created so that Irish is a modern-day working language. On the other hand, it’s apparent that native speakers don’t get involved in the terminology creation process, necessarily, and thus don’t typically accept or use these newly created terms. According to my own (limited) research, Irish learners in a Gaeltacht setting then can’t rely on native speakers to learn these new terms, and so the English words are used instead, unfortunately. Very interesting dynamic.

All the best,

 

Amanda

by

Turas go Londain / Trip to London

A chairde,

Beannachtaí ó chathair bhaisteach agus ghaofar inniu! Bhí níos mó na 3 seachtain againn le haimsir iontach deas agus té, gan rian fearthainne agus grianmhar ar fad. Leis an fhírinne, thiocfadh leat a rá go raibh sé beagán róthé, ach tá a fhios agam nach féidir liom a leitheid a rá i gcomparáid leis an drochaimsir a bhí ar siúl sna Stáit agus ar fud na hEorpa! Níl muid cleachta leis an ‘ghrian’ agus an ‘teas’ seo in Éirinn níos mó! 🙂

I rith na tréimhse té sin, bhí an t-ádh orainn dul ar turas go Londain! D’fhan muid le teaghlach de chuid Jonathan taobh amuigh den chathair, i mbaile a thugtar Linfield air. Bhí an-spórt againn agus chonaic muid na radharcanna ba cháiliúla (221B Baker Street, Parliament, Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Iarsmalann na Briotaine, London Eye, srl), in éineacht le mo chol ceathracha Heidi & Jared, agus a bpáistí Ulysses, Bronwyn, agus Thorrun a fheiceáil, agus bualadh le mo chara as Corcaigh, Eoin. Ba thuras ar dóigh é, agus mar bhuntáiste eile, bhí na ticéidí saor in aisce ó Bhanc na hÉireann, fosta!

Sílim gurb é sin an taisteal deireanach a dhéanfaidh muid i mbliana, áfach. Tá an t-airgead gann agus níl ach 3 seachtaine fágtha againn sula n-imíonn muid ar ais go Massachusetts! Tá áthas an domhain orm a rá gur sheol mé isteach an chéad dréacht de mo thráchtas inné, agus tá Seanachán ag obair go dian ar a thráchtas féin. Le cuidiú Dé, beidh achan rud istigh agus críochnaithe roimh leath-mhí Lúnasa.

Le grá,

Amanda

_________________________

Hello folks,

Greetings and salutations from a once-more rainy and windy Galway city! We had more than 3 weeks without any rain, believe it or not, and like many places in the world Ireland went through an unexpected heat wave without a trace of rain that was completely sunny! In truth, one could say it was actually a little bit too hot… but I know I’m not allowed to say something like that with the horrible weather going on in the States and all over Europe. It’s just that we’re not used to this thing called ‘sun’ and ‘heat’ any more here in Ireland! 🙂

During that hot period, we were very lucky to go on a trip to London! We stayed with Jonathan’s family (his mother’s cousin Gilbert and his wife Jane) just outside of the city, in a town called Linfield. We had a blast and along with seeing all of the most famous sites (221B Baker Street, Parliament, Westminster, Buckingham Palace, London Eye, British Museum, etc), we visited with my cousins Heidi and Jared and their children Ulysses, Bronwyn and Thorrun, and also my friend from Cork, Eoin. It was a fabulous trip and, as a bonus, our tickets there and back were paid for by Bank of Ireland!

I think that is the last bit of traveling we will be doing this year, however. There’s no money for such pleasures and we only have 3 weeks till we head home to Massachusetts! I’m delighted to report that I have submitted the first draft of my thesis, and Jonathan is working diligently on his own. Hopefully, everything will be in and done by the middle of August.

All the best,

 

Amanda

by

Ag seinm ar MS The World / Playing on MS The World

A chairde,

Bhí ócáid Fulbright ar siúl ar MS The World, long ollmhór, agus bhí onóir mhór againn ceol a sheinm fána choinne! Bhí an long dóchreidte galánta agus mór, agus bhain muid an-sult as an turas a fuair muid air. Seo alt ar Wikipedia fá dtaobh de: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_The_World

Agus seo cúpla pictiúr den fhailtiú Fulbright:

Tá muid an-bhuíoch do Fulbright as an seans seo!

Amanda

 

IMG_3398

Me and Alex taking a photo opp outside the ship

IMG_3370

Damn, that’s a big boat… I mean, SHIP.

IMG_3377

The top deck (the outdoor swimming pool)

IMG_3380

Lounge beds for hire, where one can sleep under the stars

IMG_3393

All Fulbright awardees of 2012/2013!

IMG_3388

Us playing on The World!

 

 

Hey folks,

Fulbright had a fancy occasion on MS The World, an enormous cruise ship, and we were very honored to be able to play music for it! This ship was incredibly huge and beautiful, and we really enjoyed the tour we got on it. Here’s a Wikipedia article about it, if you’re interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_The_World

And here’s a couple of pictures of the Fulbright reception:

Many thanks to Fulbright for this fabulous time!

Amanda

by

Cuairteoirí agus Ceol / Visitors and Music

A chairde,

Tá a fhios agam gur ‘drochbhlagóir’ atá ionam, agus nach raibh mé ag scríobh anseo le fada. Mo leithscéal faoi sin.

Níl mé ábalta a chreidbhéail gur mí Iúil é…  I gceann mí go leith, pillfidh muid abhaile go Massachusetts. Tá neart ama againn anseo fós agus tá neart le déanamh insan am sin, ach tá sé doiligh gan bheith ag smaoineamh fán saol a bheas againn nuair atá muid ar ais sna Stáit, agus caidé a dhéanfaidh muid ansin. Beidh ‘suaitheadh cultúir’ againn, gan amhras.

Agus muid ag druidim le deireadh ár dtréimhse anseo, tá cairde ag teacht ó achan áit le cuairt a thabhairt orainn! Bhí lúcháir orainn fáilte a chur roimh teaghlach ó Vermont, na Tansleys – Daron, Priscilla, Kyle, agus Elena. Creid nó ná creid, d’fhan siad uilig san árasán s’againne, sa leaba breise agus ar an urlar. Bhí sé rud beag lán sa teach seo, ach ba chuairteoirí iontach deas iad agus bhain muid an-sult as a gcomhluadar. Ar an drochuair, bhí orainn ár n-am a chaitheamh ag scríobh na dtráchtas ag an choláiste, seachas bheith ag turasóireacht lenár gcairde, ach bhí na tráthnónta againn, ar a laghad. Is ceoltóir den scóth é Daron ar an fheadóg, agus bhí neart craic againn leis ag seinm ceoil san árasán agus ag cúpla seisiún. Agus bhí an-spraoi agamsa le hElena, ag seinm na gcupáin! Theagasc sí an rithim agus an t-amhrán seo domh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmSbXsFE3l8

Agus chuaigh muid amach ag ‘buskáil’ ar shráid na Gaillimhe le Daron ar an fheadóg!

IMG_3298 100_0334

D’imigh na Tansleys ar an 3ú lá de mhí Iúil, agus an lá ina dhiaidh bhí áthas an domhain orainn ár gcara Pádraig a fheiceáil, ar chuairt ón Bheilg. D’fhan sé ar an Cheathrú Rua seachas linne, ar an drochuair, ach ba dheas é dinnéar a ithe leis agus a bheith ag caint.

Amarach, tiocfaidh ár gcairde Myshele agus Doug ón Alban ar feadh cúpla lá, agus ansin rachaidh muid ar thuras go Londain ar feadh cúpla lá! Fuair muid ticéidí saor in aisce ón bhanc (bhí ‘promotion’ ag Banc na hÉireann nuair a fuair muid ár gcuntais ag tús na bliana), agus fanfaidh muid le teaghlach dár gcuid ansin. Tá muid ag súil go mór leis, ach tá a fhios againn go mbeidh muid faoi bhrú mhór leis na tráchtais dhámanta seo! Ní bheith an seans seo againn arís le fada, áfach, agus bainfidh muid leas as agus muid anseo.

Nóta beag amháin eile… tá seasúr an cheoil faoi lán seoil anseo in Éirinn… agus leis an easpa airgid/ama atá againn, níl muid in ann a dháth a dhéanamh fá dtaobh de! 😦 Thosaigh an Scoil Samhradh Willie Clancy inné, tá Féile Blás díreach i ndiaidh críochnú i Luimneach, agus beidh Scoil Acla agus an Fleadh Ceoil ar siúl i mí Iúil / Lúnasa. Bhuel, déanfaidh muid iarracht cúpla rud a fheiceáil anseo is ansiúd, agus b’fhéidir nach gcaillfidh muid achan rud deas.

Ar ais go dtí an obair liom. Bainigí sult as an lá!

Amanda

____________________________________________

Hello everybody,

I know I’ve not been very good at keeping up with this blog regularly, my apologies about that. Bad blogger… bad blogger!

I can’t believe it’s already July! In a month and a half, we’ll be returning home to Massachusetts. We still have a lot of time here, and lots to do in that time yet, but it’s difficult to not think about the life we’ll have again once we return to the states, and what we’ll do once we get back. I’m sure we’ll go through quite the period of culture shock, for starters.

As we’re closing in on the end of our time here, friends are flocking to Ireland to visit! We were delighted to host a family from Vermont, Daron, Priscilla, Kyle, and Elena Tansley, here for about a week. Believe it or not, they all stayed here in our apartment, in the extra bed and on couch cushions on the floor. Yeah, it was a bit cramped, but they were such lovely guests and we really enjoyed their company. Unfortunately, we weren’t the best of hosts as we had to go to the college and work on our theses about every day, rather than tour around with our friends, but at least we got to see them in the evenings and mornings. Daron is one of the finest whistle players we’ve ever heard, and we really enjoyed playing tunes with him, both in the apartment and in a couple of sessions in town. And I had a blast learning how to play the cups with Elena! She taught me this rhythm and song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmSbXsFE3l8

And then we went busking in Galway center with Daron on the whistle (yes, believe it or not friends in MA, Daron Tansley went busking with us!)!

IMG_3298 100_0334

The Tansleys left on the 3rd of July, and the next day we met up with dear friend Pádraig, as he was visiting from Brussels (where he works as an Irish-language translator for the EU). He stayed in Carraroe instead of with us, unfortunately, but it was very nice to at least share an evening with him.

Tomorrow, our friends Myshele and Doug from Scotland will come for a few days, and then we two will head to London for a couple of days! We got tickets for free from the bank (Bank of Ireland had it as a promotion when we got our student accounts in September), and we’ll be staying with family in the London area. We’re really looking forward to it, even if we are under pressure with these darned theses, as we won’t have another chance like this for a very long time after leaving Europe – so let’s take advantage of it!

One other note… music season is in full swing here in Ireland… and of course, with the lack of funds and time, we can’t do a thing about it! 😦 The Willie Clancy Summer School started yesterday, I believe, the Blás festival in Limerick just finished, and the Acaill Island Summer School and the Fleadh Ceoil will be happening this month and next. Sigh. Well, we’ll try to get out to a couple things here and there and not miss it all, it just seems so silly that it’s all right… there… in our grasp, and we have to remain tied to the computers in order to finish everything in time for our departure. We’ll see what fun stuff we can squeeze in here and there, though!

Back to work for now. Have a great day!

Amanda

by

Roinnt Pictiúirí / Some pictures

A chairde, anseo atá roinnt pictiúirí ón mhí seo chaite. Bainigí sult astu! / Folks, here are some pictures from our June adventures, hope you like them!

by

Mí an Mheithimh / The Month of June

A chairde,

Ní chreidim é, ach tá mí an Mheithimh chóir a bheith thart cheana féin!  Chaith muid coicís i dTír Chonaill idir an 5ú agus an 19ú lá de mhí seo, agus bhí sé go hiontach, mar is gnáth. Bhí mé féin ag déanamh taighde do mo thráchtas ag an Acadamh i nGaoth Dobhair (agallaimh le muintir na háite ansin), agus ba dheas an deis í ár gcuid oibre a dhéanamh in áit chomh galánta sin. Bhí an aimsir go hálainn don chéad seachtain a bhí muid ansin, agus bhí cosúlacht na Spáinne ar an Bhun Bheag! D’fhan muid lenár gcairde Paul agus Linda, sa Teach Bán, agus bhain muid an-sult as a gcomhluadar. An dara seachtain, d’fhan muid i dteach ár gcarad, Pat, i bhFalcorrib. Ní raibh an aimsir chomh grianmhar is a bhí, ach fós féin ba dhoiligh pilleadh ar ais go Gaillimh Dé Céadaoine.

Bhí ceolchoirm iontach le feiceáil againn oíche Chéadaoine, áfach! Bhí Mick O’Brien, a iníon Aoife Ní Bhriain, agus Emer Maynock ag seinm ag Eaglais Naomh Nicolás i lár na Gaillimhe, agus ba cheolchoirm an-deas í. Ar an drochuair, ní raibh an fhuaimníocht rómhaith mar ní raibh maidhceanna acu, agus d’imigh/mheasc an fhuaim chomh luath is a sheinn siad aon rud, ach bhain muid sult as ar scór ar bith.

Ba é an lá ina dhiaidh, an 20ú, breithlá Sheanacháin! Ní raibh a fhios aige, ach chuir mé féin coisir bheag le chéile ar a shon ag Áras na nGael, agus nuair a shroic muid an teach tabhairne fá choinne ‘cúpla port le cairde,’ bhí slua ann le ceiliúradh, ag fanacht leis! Sílim go raibh an-iontas air agus bhí sé go hiontach am a chaitheamh le cuid mhór ár gcairde sa tír seo. Thug cairde carn bídh leo, bhí ceol ar dóigh, damhsa iontach, agus craic mhór.  Go raibh míle maith agaibh uilig as teacht arís, ba oíche mhór í!

Tá ag gabháil de réir a chéile leis na tráchtais, agus caithfidh muid cromadh ar an obair anois, ionas go bhfuil achan rud déanta roimh mhí Lúnasa. Le cuidiú Dé, beidh…

Le grá,

Amanda

_____________________________________

Hello friends,

I don’t believe it, but June is almost over! We spent a  fortnight in Donegal between the 5th and 19th of this month, and it was wonderful, as usual. I was doing research for my thesis at the Acadamh in Gweedore (doing interviews with local folks), and it was such a lovely chance to be doing our work in such a beautiful place. The weather was gorgeous for the first week or so that we were there, it was like Spain in Bunbeg! We stayed with our friends Paul and Linda, in ‘an Teach Bán,’ and we really enjoyed their hospitality and company. The second week, we stayed at our friend Pat’s cottage in Falcorrib (our home away from home!). The weather wasn’t so spectacular as it had been, but it was still difficult to pull ourselves away and return to Galway on Wednesday.

However, we had a concert to attend! Mick O’Brien, Aoife Ní Bhriain, and Emer Maynock were playing at St. Nicholas’s Church in Galway, and it was a really nice concert. Unfortunately, the acoustics were not very good, as they didn’t have microphones and the sound kind of disappeared into the ether of the church (or mixed all together), but we really enjoyed it anyway.

And the next day, the 20th, was Jonathan’s birthday! Unbeknownst to him, I had been planning a surprise birthday party for him for months, and when we arrived at Áras na nGael for ‘a couple of tunes with friends,’ there was a great big group of all our wonderful friends in Ireland to greet him and celebrate his birthday! They brought loads of food, our friend Máire made a delicious wheat-free chocolate cake, and we had loads of tunes and dancing and craic. I think he was really surprised, and it was  truly wonderful to spend this time with all of our Ireland friends. Thanks to you all who were able to make it, it was a great night!

Bit by bit, these theses are coming together, and now we have to put our noses to the grindstone so that everything is finished by August 1st. Hopefully, that will come to pass…

All the best,

Amanda